People living with disabilities face significant challenges when seeking employment – from stigma and discrimination to a lack of interest in their work aspirations and passions.
We have been working with the Inclusion Works (IW) programme (part of Inclusive Futures) to learn about people with disabilities’ experiences and their wider perceptions of the world of work, and the barriers and facilitators to finding work in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. The IW programme is ending after three years of interventions, we present our findings in a recently published paper.
Our research was conducted through ‘Action Learning Groups’ (ALG) – participatory groups made up three types of participants: jobseekers with disabilities (some just for young people or women with disabilities), and separate groups for employers involved in the IW programme.
Each ALG was run by our wonderful facilitators: Sayma in Bangladesh, Josephine in Kenya, Shadrach in Nigeria, and Eric in Uganda. They supported and helped structure the group discussions, with the agenda set by the participants. They ensured that the approach was inclusive so that everyone was able to participate equally and had the opportunity to talk, listen and learn from each other.
The conversations in these groups highlighted and reinforced new learnings for me. Here is what we found.
Recognise different backgrounds
Jobseekers with disabilities are a diverse group of people, who share both differences and similarities in their situations and experiences. The people involved in our ALGs had varying levels of education; some had little or none because of lack of access to inclusive education, while others were well educated, including up to degree level. This meant the types of jobs they could apply for varied and the support they needed differed, yet this is not always factored into programme design. One common theme persisted for all: no matter their education level, all struggled to find work due to the discrimination they continue to face, both in recruitment processes and in workplaces
End discrimination
Disability stigma and discrimination are a major barrier to accessing employment. People with intellectual and visual impairments were noted as facing the most intense difficulties, as employers underestimate their abilities, and are often not aware of the adaptations that are needed to accommodate and support these people. Encouragingly, employers and jobseekers involved in the IW programme and in our ALGs shared that contact with each other was helping to change employer’s mindsets about what people with disabilities are capable of and can positively contribute in a range workplaces and roles
Women in ALGs emphasised issues around gender discrimination. Women with disabilities often find it harder to find work than men with disabilities. They often had gendered responsibilities such as childcare, lower levels of education, less access to information about job opportunities, less access to credit, and were sometimes prevented from accessing opportunities by their partners and families.
Accept different responsibilities and needs
Employers and those designing training programmes need to acknowledge that jobseekers with disabilities may have specific needs when it comes to work. Some need work to fit around their caring responsibilities, and therefore may be more interested in self-employment. Some need to work close to home as transport is not accessible. Some want to work in the public sector due to the security they felt it provides. This shows that there needs to be better matching between supply and demand of jobs.
Support ambitions and passions
“For me, it felt like young people with disability did not have ‘permission’ to share, live in and explore their spaces of interest.”
Like anyone else, jobseekers with disabilities are individuals with their own ambitions and interests when it comes to work. As one of our facilitators noted:
“I found that the questions for young job seekers with disabilities were narrow – ‘what can you do?’ ‘What does your disability allow you to do?’ There was limited discussion on what they were passionate about. It was about, how do we get you into employment, with very little regard to what the individual was interested in. For me, it felt like young people with disability did not have ‘permission’ to share, live in and explore their spaces of interest.”
The skills-trainings provided by the programme (for example, general or role specific skills) were helpful to the jobseekers with disabilities but did not always meet their needs. The suggestion was that programmes need to ask them what they want and tailor the support and training provided to better suit this.
Create a supportive group
From their comments on the experience of being in the ALGs, it was clear that the participants felt there was a lot of benefit and power in having a supportive group around you. It helped with the transfer of knowledge, in building confidence, and gave people a sense of being less alone in the difficulties they faced. As one women’s member in Uganda stated:
“I now have the confidence to try out [finding a job] since joining this group. Otherwise, I always treated myself with disregard.’’
Much progress is being made in promoting inclusive employment, but there is still more work to be done!
